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10 franchise-changing plays for the Cowboys: From Roger Staubach’s Hail Mary to Dez Bryant’s no-catch

Tim Cowlishaw breaks down some of the biggest moments in franchise history.

Update:
This story originally published Jul. 7, 2020.

A team that has won five Super Bowls, eight NFC championships and participated in the playoffs 32 times has produced more than 10 memorable plays. A lot more than 10. So with no disrespect intended to all those that missed the cut here, we take a look at one man’s opinion of the 10 franchise-changing plays in Cowboys history.

1. Roger flings a Hail Mary

Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach (12) scrambles for yardage during the final minutes of a...
Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach (12) scrambles for yardage during the final minutes of a playoff victory over the Minnesota Vikings in their famous playoff game on Dec. 28, 1975, at the Met Stadium in Minneapolis. Staubach also threw his famous Hail Mary pass to Drew Pearson (not pictured) in this contest.(RHODES, John F. / Old B&W Photo)

Dec. 28, 1975: The Cowboys let St. Louis escape with the NFC East in 1975, but it was the Cowboys who marched to the Super Bowl — the first time on a team led solely by Roger Staubach and not a shared Staubach-Morton experience. But they would not have survived the opening round if not for the electrifying finish that Staubach and Drew Pearson produced, first with a fourth-and-17 conversion and then with the famed 50-yard touchdown that Staubach dubbed a “Hail Mary.”

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You really can’t watch or listen to a football broadcast today without someone at the end of the half or game mentioning “Hail Mary'' opportunities, and the term transcends sports. More than anything, that play established Staubach and the Cowboys as “America’s Team,” which explains the franchise’s ability to capitalize on its brand around the world as the richest NFL franchise despite a lack of Super Bowl trips for the last 24 years.

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2. Harper breaks 49ers’ back

On Jan. 8, 1985, Alvin Harper caught a 94-yard touchdown pass from Troy Aikman as part of...
On Jan. 8, 1985, Alvin Harper caught a 94-yard touchdown pass from Troy Aikman as part of Dallas' 35-9 home NFC Divisional Playoff win over the Packers.
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Jan. 17, 1993: Just as “The Catch” signaled the dawn of a new day and new dominant team in Candlestick Park in the ’81 Championship Game, the Cowboys fired back 11 years later. Needing to run the clock, Norv Turner dialed up a crossing route for Alvin Harper. Troy Aikman hit him in stride for a 71-yard gain to the 49ers’ 9-yard line. It set up the clinching touchdown and announced a passing of the torch, and three Lombardi Trophies were on their way to Dallas.

3. Starr’s sneak is a crusher

1967 NFL Championship game: Green Bay 21, Dallas 17; Dec. 31, 1967 in Green Bay. Frozen in...
1967 NFL Championship game: Green Bay 21, Dallas 17; Dec. 31, 1967 in Green Bay. Frozen in time, the image of Bart Starr’s 1-yard sneak with 16 seconds remaining in the “Ice Bowl” remains vivid almost 35 years later. It was Green Bay’s third straight NFL title game victory and second straight over the Cowboys.(AP)
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Dec. 31, 1967: After a close loss in the 1966 NFL championship kept Dallas from the first Super Bowl, it all came down to one play in the Ice Bowl. One innovation by Bart Starr. If Jerry Kramer doesn’t lower his pads to get underneath Jethro Pugh and clear the way, teams could have been playing for the Landry Trophy all these years. And maybe Don Meredith doesn’t end up retiring in frustration a year later at age 30.

Close. But not quite there. And maybe the all-time one-man audible by Starr.

4. Hayes wins ‘The Great Race’

Shot Nov. 11, 1974 -- Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers.
Shot Nov. 11, 1974 -- Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers.(Gary Barnett / FILE)

Sept. 18, 1966: It was opening day at the Cotton Bowl, and the Cowboys put on a show, derailing the Giants 52-7 with the highlight coming as Bob Hayes outraced former sprinter Clarence Childs on a 74-yard touchdown grab from Don Meredith. It was called “The Great Race'' in the papers the next day. Asked afterward if he was surprised Childs, who had a decent angle, couldn’t catch him, Hayes said, “Nah, he’s just an old 9.3 guy.‘'

The Cowboys were off and running toward eight straight trips to the playoffs and 20 consecutive winning seasons, and Hayes’ speed was set to change the game forever.

5. Lilly wins the chase

There are sacks and there are sacks. Miami quarterback Bob Griese kept retreating to escape...
There are sacks and there are sacks. Miami quarterback Bob Griese kept retreating to escape a relentless Dallas Doomsday defense on the final play of the first quarter in the 1972 Super Bowl. Bob Lilly finally tracked him down at the Miami 9 for a Super Bowl-record 29-yard sack.
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Jan. 16, 1972: There are sacks, and then there are SACKS. None in Cowboys lore or really in the history of the NFL has gained greater attention than Bob Lilly’s all-over-the-field pursuit of Miami’s Bob Griese in Super Bowl VI. It resulted in, yes, a 29-yard loss during the Cowboys’ 24-3 rout of the Dolphins.

The Hall of Fame tackle who had famously thrown his helmet down the field after a disappointing 16-13 Super Bowl loss the previous January now had his signature play and a Super Bowl ring.

6. Dorsett sets NFL record

Tony Dorsett gave the Cowboys a flashy running back who could break off big runs, such as...
Tony Dorsett gave the Cowboys a flashy running back who could break off big runs, such as this 99-yarder against the Vikings.
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Jan. 3, 1983: You know it’s really hard to run 99 yards for a touchdown in the NFL because it took 36 seasons for Tennessee’s Derrick Henry to tie this record. Doing it with 10 men breaking the huddle only added to the difficulty Tony Dorsett encountered that night in Minnesota.

With fullback Ron Springs having trotted to the sidelines, Dorsett said, “Who needs a lead blocker?” and raced through the Vikings defense all the way to the end zone.

7. Washington crushes Buffalo momentum

Cowboys safety James Washington runs for a touchdown in front of defensive back Thomas...
Cowboys safety James Washington runs for a touchdown in front of defensive back Thomas Everett in the third quarter after recovering a Thurman Thomas fumble.
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Jan. 30, 1994: After blasting the Bills in the previous Super Bowl, the Cowboys appeared to be going through the motions in the return match, trailing 13-6 at halftime. Safety James Washington changed all that with a 46-yard fumble return for a touchdown that tied the score just 45 seconds into the third quarter.

Washington forced another fumble, intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter, led the team with 11 tackles and should have been the game’s MVP. The honor went to Emmitt Smith, who certainly did his part as well to give the Cowboys their only back-to-back Super Bowl wins.

8. Catch or no catch?

FILE - Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) temporarily loses control of the ball after a...
FILE - Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) temporarily loses control of the ball after a critical pass catch, and the pass was ruled incomplete, during a playoff game against the Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015.
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Jan. 11, 2015: It was a perfect throw from Tony Romo and a great athletic catch and dive for the goal line by Dez Bryant. It would have put the Cowboys a yard away from taking a fourth-quarter lead over Green Bay in Lambeau Field. Dallas’ defense still would have needed to hold off Aaron Rodgers since more than four minutes remained on the clock. But the NFL’s “Catch” Rule helped prevent the Cowboys from reaching their first NFC Championship Game — something that was a regular event in the ’70s and ’90s — of the 21st century.

The league amended the rule in the offseason. Too little too late.

9. Renfro stops Lions

Mel Renfro.
Mel Renfro.(FILE)
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Dec. 26, 1970: The club’s final playoff game in the Cotton Bowl is overlooked — probably because it was a 5-0 win over Detroit — but it was a turning point for the team busting through that door. A first-round exit would have made five straight playoff trips without a Super Bowl trip. In a game that was all about the defense on both sides (Craig Morton was a ghastly 4-for-18 for 38 yards with a pick), Mel Renfro intercepted Bill Munson inside the Cowboys’ 15-yard line as the Lions were driving for the potential winning touchdown.

“This was the greatest win we’ve had for the Dallas Cowboys, I don’t think there’s any question about it,‘' Coach Tom Landry said afterward.

10. Larry Brown wins Super Bowl MVP

Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown runs with a fourth-quarter interception against the...
Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown runs with a fourth-quarter interception against the Pittsburgh Steelers during Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, Ariz., on Jan. 28, 1996. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan, File)
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Jan. 28, 1996: Admittedly, Larry Brown was asked to make tougher catches in his pro career. But the two interceptions Pittsburgh’s Neil O’Donnell sent his way in Super Bowl XXX stifled a Steelers comeback and earned Brown Super Bowl MVP recognition. Teammate Deion Sanders told him on the sideline, “One more and you can run for mayor.‘'

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